The world’s most beloved detective, Hercule Poirot – the legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and most recently The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket—returns in a stylish, diabolically clever mystery set in 1930’s London.

Returning home after lunch one day, Hercule Poirot finds an angry woman waiting outside his front door. She demands to know why Poirot has sent her a letter accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met.

Poirot has also never heard of a Barnabas Pandy, and has accused nobody of murder. Shaken, he goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him — a man who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy…

Poirot wonders how many more letters of this sort have been sent in his name. Who sent them, and why? More importantly, who is Barnabas Pandy, is he dead, and, if so, was he murdered? And can Poirot find out the answers without putting more lives in danger?

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"As tricky as anything written by Agatha Christie.... Poirot is back."--Alexander McCall Smith, New York Times bestselling author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

"Classic Christie . . . Captures the essence of the originals without being a slavish imitation . . . Clues emerge, but the case remains perplexing. Christie aficionados will delight in the familiar repartee and the intricate deduction of the solution."--Washington Post

"A puzzle worthy of the skills of legendary detective Hercule Poirot.... Hannah once again nails the style and substance of her beloved predecessor, producing another treat for Christie fans."--Booklist (starred review)

"It's easy to see why the Agatha Christie estate chose Ms. Hannah for the daunting task of chronicling Poirot's continuing adventures. In her capable hands, Hercule Poirot lives and investigates as creatively and astutely as he ever has."--CriminalElement.com

"Hercule Poirot fans, rejoice! The fastidious Belgian detective with the amazing little gray cells and equally amazing moustache is back.... I had forgotten how enjoyable, and intricate, the plotting of a Poirot mystery is.... I loved it!"--Suspense Magazine

"Sophie Hannah's third "New Hercule Poirot Mystery" proves to be most satisfying...faithful to its model in the essentials but flexible enough to allow for an animated plot and protagonist."--Washington Post

"Another ingeniously deceptive puzzle.... The gratifying reveal is a neat variation on one of Christie's own solutions and demonstrates Hannah's facility at combining her own plotting gifts with another author's creation."--Publishers Weekly

From the Inside Flap

The world's most beloved detective, Hercule Poirot - the legendary star of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express and most recently The Monogram Murders and Closed Casket-returns in a stylish, diabolically clever mystery set in 1930's London.

Returning home after lunch one day, Hercule Poirot finds an angry woman waiting outside his front door. She demands to know why Poirot has sent her a letter accusing her of the murder of Barnabas Pandy, a man she has neither heard of nor ever met.

Poirot has also never heard of a Barnabas Pandy, and has accused nobody of murder. Shaken, he goes inside, only to find that he has a visitor waiting for him - a man who also claims also to have received a letter from Poirot that morning, accusing him of the murder of Barnabas Pandy.

Poirot wonders how many more letters of this sort have been sent in his name. Who sent them, and why? More importantly, who is Barnabas Pandy, is he dead, and, if so, was he murdered? And can Poirot find out the answers without putting more lives in danger?

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I reviewed one of the earlier books in this little series by Sophie Hannah, and I really liked that one & love this one too. It has held me throughout, really good characters and a great mystery. I am not a purist as a Christie fan, haven't read all the originals and like Poirot (always more of a Sherlock fan) - but am not so involved with the originals that a deviation upsets me at all. What I have here is a tale that holds together, Poirot is a likeable and interesting detective and holds centre stage without dominating - the other players are all well developed. I would say if you are a fan of detective fiction go for it, its another great read by Hannah.

The Mystery of the Three Quarters is a highly enjoyable and entertaining whodunit. Poirot investigates a baffling mystery, why have four people all received a letter supposedly signed by him, which accuses each one of them of murdering Barnabas Pandy? Poirot puts his little grey cells to work, does Barnabas Pandy exists, was he murdered and if so how and by whom? Without giving the plot away, the ending came as a total surprise. As well as plenty of intrigue, there’s also lots of humour in the book, which made it lots of fun, engaging and a pleasure to read from start to finish.

I love Sophie Hannah’s Poirot novels and this is my favourite so far. As a long time Agatha Christie fan, I find Poirot authentic and she is always respectful of Agatha. However, Sophie has introduced in her books some great, new characters, Edward Catchpool and my personal favourite Fee Spring, and it’s wonderful to see these characters evolve. Highly recommend.

I read this in one evening, the story had momentum all the way through. The switch to Catchpool’s voice and back is very well done and adds to the plot. Looking forward to the next book. Sophie Hannah sometimes speaks at book events and is as entertaining in person as she is as a writer, see her if you can do so.

Having read Sophie Hannah's other Poirot novels I was keen to read the latest. As before she has captured Agatha Christie's style, and that of the times, very authentically. This is a pacey read with a plot which has the just the right amount of twists and turns - you can have a guess at "whodunit" - the clues are there but you're never sure! Unfortunately I found the ending disappointing, without a spoiler I thought it incredibly unlikely, particularly the alleged motive. One final point - why replace Captain Hastings with Catchpool?

If you can’t have Christie, then this is next best. Starts untidily, I thought, and the ending also seems untidy, but it is still a good read. The story is unusual, but ‘who dunnit’ is well concealed - I identified the ‘right’ person several times, only to find I was wrong each time! I didn’t think it was as well written as The Closed Casket, but it’s Poirot, so you have to read it!

The third story by the very good author Sophie Hannah! This time poirot himself gets accused of murder! But manages to clear his name & off course the case as well! Written well & told wellI hope there are more to come!

It is my least favourite of the three Poirot books by Sophie Hannah. I wasn't at all sure about the ending, about which I will say nothing. The characters were good, however, and she has captured the overall feel of the period and of the books, and the story was interesting - rather hard to accept the denouement, all the same.